I am going to start cross posting my journals here.
I hope everyone is well. I have been so busy and occupied with school. I am getting depressed again and I intend to start keeping my journal again.
I hope everyone is well. Just drop me a line friends.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Let me tell you about myself in this first posting. I am a full time student studying sociology and anthropology. In addition to my studies I also work for a political campaign (not Obama!!!) and I work for my school (only 1 day a week though). My hobbies include RPGs, miniature gaming, shooting my pistols, watching DVDs, debate, and reading anything interesting. I have no girlfriend and am currently confused in regards to women.
I want to be a police officer more than anything else. My dream is to work for a big city department like Chicago, NYC, or LAPD. Part of the reason I am here is because my dream department is not testing anyone just yet but is rumored to be having their test sometime this year. I have heard as late as December of 2008 which gives me a bit of time. The test is just a written one, and if I pass, then a few more months (1-3 I believe) I will have to pass a physical test. My goal is to be able to do the following by this time
Run 1.5 miles in 13:46 or under.
Do a sit and reach and score at least a 16
Do 37 or more sit-ups in a minute
Bench-press 98% of my bodyweight
If I can do that I can pass the police physical and proceed into the next phase of hiring. This is something I have wanted to do for years and I want to do it now. I procrastinated for a long time and I am just afraid that my dream will pass me by.
Now let me introduce myself in regards to my weight issues. I am a 26 year old who is overweight. I am starting Atkins for the second time. I was on it for a little while, about 6 months or so. I was at about 335 when I started. I got down to 290 or so after a few months. When I transferred to this school in January of 2007 I weighed 350 pounds. That was my highest weight ever! I lost about 15 pounds through walking and being more active simply because I was no longer at home watching television. I had taken a semester off and gained about 40 pounds while doing this. I hated myself, and I still do a little bit.
I vowed to lose weight for a multitude of reasons. I felt horrible about myself and I felt ugly. I believe this helped lead to a severe depression. I hated my life and constantly felt ashamed of how I looked. I had a hard time sitting in the little desks that seem to populate the college I attend. It is so embarrassing to sit there and listen to the chair make creaking sounds as you sit there. I felt horrible as my stomach pressed against the edge of the desk and I hated going to class. Especially when I was crushing on the girl who sat next to me. Everybody in my class was younger and in much better shape. There seems to be an infinite amount of beautiful young girls on the campus and it really makes you think about your chances at going out with them when you look in the mirror.
My depression steadily increased and I began to feel more and more depressed. I felt like my life was completely out of control and spiraling in directions that I did not want to go. I had my heart broken by a girl I had been head over heels in love with. She rejected me and I felt lower than I had ever been. I felt part of it was because I was unattractive and severely overweight. The depression was getting steadily worse and worse as the year progressed due to many different factors but mainly due to my poor self esteem and body image. I have always felt that this was one of the major pitfalls in my life.
Anyways, I decided that I needed to do something. I really wanted to lose weight. My goal is to get down to about 220 or so in the long run. I plan to set goals. For example I am at 313 or so. I plan to set a goal of 299. Then I plan to go down to 275, 275, and 225. I don't remember the last time I was at that low a weight. The closest I can remember being was about 238 back in 2000 or so. I want to be that size again. I went off plan before after a successful 8 or 9 months. Part of the blame was a girl and wanting to do some dinner dates, the holiday dinners for my family are not low carb friendly at all, and my own getting back on the wagon with my carb craving. I put on 23 pounds back since then and I am at around 313 or so.
As of right now I am trying to do induction phase. However I have not had time to reread the book because I have been extremely busy with school. I am kind of going on what I remember. I have been using some keto sticks that I have leftover. I am currently in ketosis at the lower level. Not necessarily very pink but enough to know that I am in ketosis. I am in a light to moderate state of ketosis. The diet has mostly been chicken, pork blade steaks, celery and cream cheese, breakfast (scrambled eggs with bacon/sausage). I have been drinking green tea, diet colas such as Diet Rite or Diet Coke, and water mostly. Though on occasion I drink some Kroger brand sugar free lemonade (generic Wyler's drinks). I pan fry most of my pork steaks in olive oil or coconut oil. The chicken is usually baked in the oven. I make drummettes or breasts. I season them with Chilula Chili-Lime or Original spices. I also use Kroger Brand Garlic Parmesan wing sauce or their hot wing sauce. I also make my own with margarine (I plan to switch to butter once the margarine runs out) and use some hot sauce.
I occasionally eat a salad from my favorite coffee shop. It consists of a few different ingredients. They are feta cheese, black olives, purple onions, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, and green peppers. I usually garnish it with their creamy Italian vinaigrette dressing but I plan to go back to vinegar and oil. I also plan to eat more tuna salad. I make it with chunked albacore tuna, mayonnaise, chopped chives, minced garlic, garlic powder, and celery.
Today, for example, I had a 1.5 pound garlic and onion pork roast. According to the label it contained 2 carbs per serving. I ate 6 servings, for a total of 12 carbs. It has been the only thing I have eaten all day as I have been either at work or in class since 11:00. The only free time I had was used to cook it and eat it. I did have an hour but I passed out as I had pulled an all-nighter because I had a big test today. I have been trying to drink more water but I did have a 20 ounce diet coke. I have been so busy with classes, the gaming club, the presidential campaign (I was working at a Ron Paul office), and studying that I have no real time to sit down and just read DANDR, start this journal, or a MY PLAN account.
I have been going to the gym. I met with a personal trainer after a lot of procrastination on my part. She set me up with a weightlifting plan and an exercise regime. I have not been sticking to it. Partially because of time issues, but also because I am intimidated by some of the others at the gym. The muscle bound fraternity guys and the really girly girls who wear those skimpy outfits. I don't mind hopping on the bike for an hour but I really dislike going into the weight room because of this. I don't feel like I belong there. Part of the reason is because I don't know what a good weight to start is or how to properly lift weights. I feel as if I am just wasting time. I overstressed myself the other day and I think I pulled my triceps so I haven't lifted weights since. I need to start building those muscles up as I believe that will also help my self-confidence, my overall health, and lose weight faster. It might not be weight but loss of inches and fat on my body is not a problem for me.
So here is the game plan I have been thinking
In regards to dieting here is the deal. This Saturday I plan to sit and re-read DANDR. I made a list of the foods I could eat for induction phase and went shopping. I love pork steaks so this will probably be a big part of my diet right now (they are cheap and high in fat). I would like to stay in induction phase for a few months and maximize my weight loss. If I get on the diet and past the first few days I believe I will be alright. The majority of my breakfasts will include scrambled eggs and bacon/sausage (depending on what I want that day) with a low carb salsa that I found or hot sauce and either water, green tea, Diet Rite, or a sugarless lemonade mix drink. Lunch will most likely include a salad from the coffee shop (see a few paragraphs up) and either Diet Coke, green tea, iced tea, or water. Dinner can range from baked chicken drummettes in hot sauce to a nice thick seasoned steak to a fried pork steak. I also want to try and incorporate a vegetable to go along with it such as broccoli, green beans, asparagus, spinach, or something high in fiber and nutrients. Any oils will be olive, coconut, or what is left of the vegetable oil I have (when it runs out I will stick with the other two).
Snacks will most likely include vegetables with ranch dressing, cream cheese, or a cheese sauce. In addition to this string cheese, summer sausage, or pork rinds as well if I am not in the mood for veggies. I also like heavy whipping cream with a table spoon of splenda. I will probably drink green tea (hot), iced tea, some sort of diet soda, water, or those sugar free Kool-Aid type drinks. All the tea I drink (hot and cold) is unsweetened allowing me to sweeten to my taste. I bought a bottle of that liquid splenda and plan to carry that around with me. I will stick it in my book bag.
As for the exercise plan, I do have some ideas. I have a lot of potential workout partners. Unfortunately they don't go to the gym but they say the will. I will have to drag them. The one who does go is going at a time when it is hard for me to get there. I am going to continue with the personal trainer and try to commit to a time when I can use the weight room with as little interference as possible. I want to lose weight, build muscle, and lose fat off of my body. As I stated earlier, I want to lose inches very much and increase my overall fitness. My overall goal is to meet those goals I posted earlier. And when I do pass them, I plan to continue improving myself but those are the primary goal as of right now. I will do an hour of aerobic activity at least 4-5 days a week. The trainer said that 40 minutes would be ok but if I want to really lose weight an hour would be better. As of right now I have been doing the bikes at the gym for 40 minutes and the elliptical machine for 20. The elliptical burns more calories I noticed so I plan to step that up. I also want to start using their treadmill to run while there. I figure maybe 20 minutes of jogging (I have kind of pyramid program for this) will also be done. This is a portion of a 3 month program suggested by the Chicago Police Department to help prepare for their physical testing. This is essentially the jist of my exercise program.
In addition to that I do get a lot of exercise walking around as I don't have the luxury or desire to own a car. I really do not need one as my little college town is pretty compact and I can take the bus if worse comes worse. I also own a bike and during the summer months I will ride to the grocery store to purchase just the items I need to make dinner that night. This is good exercise and it prevents me from wasting food because it sat in the fridge and expired.
I do have a few questions and requests though
1) Does anyone have a good tuna recipe they could share? If so please post it and if you could please tell me how many carbs per serving.
2) Does anyone have any suggestions for protein shakes that use a low carb whey protein? I have a lot of it and I want to use it.
3) The diet I posted above, is that ok generally?
4) Any suggestions for an exercise routine? Primarily weight lifting advice?
5) Suggestions for spices, low carb dressings, or low carb products are much appreciated. My main shopping centers are: Kroger, Jewel, Schnooks, Meyer, and as a last resort Wal-Mart. Brand names would be helpful but I could make my own if I need to though I prefer to get the prepackaged ones. I have quite a few but I love to season food.
6) As far as restaurants go I am lucky. We usually go to Hooters to watch the UFC fights but I know I can eat the wings as long as I request no breading.. I also was curious about Schlotzky's deli, if anyone has been there. They made me a sandwich with no bread and extra meat. I do remember reading that lunchmeats were not to great but I think once a week should be alright. Will they significantly affect my ketosis?
7) Should I try to wean myself off of Diet Rite? I buy the stuff by the case and I can drink seven or eight cans a day. I don't know if this is good or not but I am guessing not. Is it time to give that up as well?
8) Portion sizes are also something I worry about. I have read that this early it will not really affect me but I am worried that it will affect me. I assume that calorie counts are not that important as most likely I will begin to decrease my intake of calories as well as carbs. I feel guilty for eating 1.5 pounds of pork roast for dinner, should I try to cut that back? If so how much?
9) And desserts I have always been a sweet lover. Chocolate is my vice and sweet of choice. I used to stop by gas stations just to grab a Dove chocolate bar. I am doing well with not buying candy bars from the vending machines on campus. But I don't believe dark chocolate is too bad for you carb wise. Just in moderation. My question is would it be better to wean myself off of this as well? A piece of dark chocolate every day, as long as I stay under 20 carbs, cannot hurt can it?
10) Any other comments or suggestions as well as encouragement are appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to listen to me pour my heart out and solicit advice from some wonderful people.
Thanks everyone.
I hope everyone is well. I have been so busy and occupied with school. I am getting depressed again and I intend to start keeping my journal again.
I hope everyone is well. Just drop me a line friends.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Let me tell you about myself in this first posting. I am a full time student studying sociology and anthropology. In addition to my studies I also work for a political campaign (not Obama!!!) and I work for my school (only 1 day a week though). My hobbies include RPGs, miniature gaming, shooting my pistols, watching DVDs, debate, and reading anything interesting. I have no girlfriend and am currently confused in regards to women.
I want to be a police officer more than anything else. My dream is to work for a big city department like Chicago, NYC, or LAPD. Part of the reason I am here is because my dream department is not testing anyone just yet but is rumored to be having their test sometime this year. I have heard as late as December of 2008 which gives me a bit of time. The test is just a written one, and if I pass, then a few more months (1-3 I believe) I will have to pass a physical test. My goal is to be able to do the following by this time
Run 1.5 miles in 13:46 or under.
Do a sit and reach and score at least a 16
Do 37 or more sit-ups in a minute
Bench-press 98% of my bodyweight
If I can do that I can pass the police physical and proceed into the next phase of hiring. This is something I have wanted to do for years and I want to do it now. I procrastinated for a long time and I am just afraid that my dream will pass me by.
Now let me introduce myself in regards to my weight issues. I am a 26 year old who is overweight. I am starting Atkins for the second time. I was on it for a little while, about 6 months or so. I was at about 335 when I started. I got down to 290 or so after a few months. When I transferred to this school in January of 2007 I weighed 350 pounds. That was my highest weight ever! I lost about 15 pounds through walking and being more active simply because I was no longer at home watching television. I had taken a semester off and gained about 40 pounds while doing this. I hated myself, and I still do a little bit.
I vowed to lose weight for a multitude of reasons. I felt horrible about myself and I felt ugly. I believe this helped lead to a severe depression. I hated my life and constantly felt ashamed of how I looked. I had a hard time sitting in the little desks that seem to populate the college I attend. It is so embarrassing to sit there and listen to the chair make creaking sounds as you sit there. I felt horrible as my stomach pressed against the edge of the desk and I hated going to class. Especially when I was crushing on the girl who sat next to me. Everybody in my class was younger and in much better shape. There seems to be an infinite amount of beautiful young girls on the campus and it really makes you think about your chances at going out with them when you look in the mirror.
My depression steadily increased and I began to feel more and more depressed. I felt like my life was completely out of control and spiraling in directions that I did not want to go. I had my heart broken by a girl I had been head over heels in love with. She rejected me and I felt lower than I had ever been. I felt part of it was because I was unattractive and severely overweight. The depression was getting steadily worse and worse as the year progressed due to many different factors but mainly due to my poor self esteem and body image. I have always felt that this was one of the major pitfalls in my life.
Anyways, I decided that I needed to do something. I really wanted to lose weight. My goal is to get down to about 220 or so in the long run. I plan to set goals. For example I am at 313 or so. I plan to set a goal of 299. Then I plan to go down to 275, 275, and 225. I don't remember the last time I was at that low a weight. The closest I can remember being was about 238 back in 2000 or so. I want to be that size again. I went off plan before after a successful 8 or 9 months. Part of the blame was a girl and wanting to do some dinner dates, the holiday dinners for my family are not low carb friendly at all, and my own getting back on the wagon with my carb craving. I put on 23 pounds back since then and I am at around 313 or so.
As of right now I am trying to do induction phase. However I have not had time to reread the book because I have been extremely busy with school. I am kind of going on what I remember. I have been using some keto sticks that I have leftover. I am currently in ketosis at the lower level. Not necessarily very pink but enough to know that I am in ketosis. I am in a light to moderate state of ketosis. The diet has mostly been chicken, pork blade steaks, celery and cream cheese, breakfast (scrambled eggs with bacon/sausage). I have been drinking green tea, diet colas such as Diet Rite or Diet Coke, and water mostly. Though on occasion I drink some Kroger brand sugar free lemonade (generic Wyler's drinks). I pan fry most of my pork steaks in olive oil or coconut oil. The chicken is usually baked in the oven. I make drummettes or breasts. I season them with Chilula Chili-Lime or Original spices. I also use Kroger Brand Garlic Parmesan wing sauce or their hot wing sauce. I also make my own with margarine (I plan to switch to butter once the margarine runs out) and use some hot sauce.
I occasionally eat a salad from my favorite coffee shop. It consists of a few different ingredients. They are feta cheese, black olives, purple onions, tomatoes, romaine lettuce, and green peppers. I usually garnish it with their creamy Italian vinaigrette dressing but I plan to go back to vinegar and oil. I also plan to eat more tuna salad. I make it with chunked albacore tuna, mayonnaise, chopped chives, minced garlic, garlic powder, and celery.
Today, for example, I had a 1.5 pound garlic and onion pork roast. According to the label it contained 2 carbs per serving. I ate 6 servings, for a total of 12 carbs. It has been the only thing I have eaten all day as I have been either at work or in class since 11:00. The only free time I had was used to cook it and eat it. I did have an hour but I passed out as I had pulled an all-nighter because I had a big test today. I have been trying to drink more water but I did have a 20 ounce diet coke. I have been so busy with classes, the gaming club, the presidential campaign (I was working at a Ron Paul office), and studying that I have no real time to sit down and just read DANDR, start this journal, or a MY PLAN account.
I have been going to the gym. I met with a personal trainer after a lot of procrastination on my part. She set me up with a weightlifting plan and an exercise regime. I have not been sticking to it. Partially because of time issues, but also because I am intimidated by some of the others at the gym. The muscle bound fraternity guys and the really girly girls who wear those skimpy outfits. I don't mind hopping on the bike for an hour but I really dislike going into the weight room because of this. I don't feel like I belong there. Part of the reason is because I don't know what a good weight to start is or how to properly lift weights. I feel as if I am just wasting time. I overstressed myself the other day and I think I pulled my triceps so I haven't lifted weights since. I need to start building those muscles up as I believe that will also help my self-confidence, my overall health, and lose weight faster. It might not be weight but loss of inches and fat on my body is not a problem for me.
So here is the game plan I have been thinking
In regards to dieting here is the deal. This Saturday I plan to sit and re-read DANDR. I made a list of the foods I could eat for induction phase and went shopping. I love pork steaks so this will probably be a big part of my diet right now (they are cheap and high in fat). I would like to stay in induction phase for a few months and maximize my weight loss. If I get on the diet and past the first few days I believe I will be alright. The majority of my breakfasts will include scrambled eggs and bacon/sausage (depending on what I want that day) with a low carb salsa that I found or hot sauce and either water, green tea, Diet Rite, or a sugarless lemonade mix drink. Lunch will most likely include a salad from the coffee shop (see a few paragraphs up) and either Diet Coke, green tea, iced tea, or water. Dinner can range from baked chicken drummettes in hot sauce to a nice thick seasoned steak to a fried pork steak. I also want to try and incorporate a vegetable to go along with it such as broccoli, green beans, asparagus, spinach, or something high in fiber and nutrients. Any oils will be olive, coconut, or what is left of the vegetable oil I have (when it runs out I will stick with the other two).
Snacks will most likely include vegetables with ranch dressing, cream cheese, or a cheese sauce. In addition to this string cheese, summer sausage, or pork rinds as well if I am not in the mood for veggies. I also like heavy whipping cream with a table spoon of splenda. I will probably drink green tea (hot), iced tea, some sort of diet soda, water, or those sugar free Kool-Aid type drinks. All the tea I drink (hot and cold) is unsweetened allowing me to sweeten to my taste. I bought a bottle of that liquid splenda and plan to carry that around with me. I will stick it in my book bag.
As for the exercise plan, I do have some ideas. I have a lot of potential workout partners. Unfortunately they don't go to the gym but they say the will. I will have to drag them. The one who does go is going at a time when it is hard for me to get there. I am going to continue with the personal trainer and try to commit to a time when I can use the weight room with as little interference as possible. I want to lose weight, build muscle, and lose fat off of my body. As I stated earlier, I want to lose inches very much and increase my overall fitness. My overall goal is to meet those goals I posted earlier. And when I do pass them, I plan to continue improving myself but those are the primary goal as of right now. I will do an hour of aerobic activity at least 4-5 days a week. The trainer said that 40 minutes would be ok but if I want to really lose weight an hour would be better. As of right now I have been doing the bikes at the gym for 40 minutes and the elliptical machine for 20. The elliptical burns more calories I noticed so I plan to step that up. I also want to start using their treadmill to run while there. I figure maybe 20 minutes of jogging (I have kind of pyramid program for this) will also be done. This is a portion of a 3 month program suggested by the Chicago Police Department to help prepare for their physical testing. This is essentially the jist of my exercise program.
In addition to that I do get a lot of exercise walking around as I don't have the luxury or desire to own a car. I really do not need one as my little college town is pretty compact and I can take the bus if worse comes worse. I also own a bike and during the summer months I will ride to the grocery store to purchase just the items I need to make dinner that night. This is good exercise and it prevents me from wasting food because it sat in the fridge and expired.
I do have a few questions and requests though
1) Does anyone have a good tuna recipe they could share? If so please post it and if you could please tell me how many carbs per serving.
2) Does anyone have any suggestions for protein shakes that use a low carb whey protein? I have a lot of it and I want to use it.
3) The diet I posted above, is that ok generally?
4) Any suggestions for an exercise routine? Primarily weight lifting advice?
5) Suggestions for spices, low carb dressings, or low carb products are much appreciated. My main shopping centers are: Kroger, Jewel, Schnooks, Meyer, and as a last resort Wal-Mart. Brand names would be helpful but I could make my own if I need to though I prefer to get the prepackaged ones. I have quite a few but I love to season food.
6) As far as restaurants go I am lucky. We usually go to Hooters to watch the UFC fights but I know I can eat the wings as long as I request no breading.. I also was curious about Schlotzky's deli, if anyone has been there. They made me a sandwich with no bread and extra meat. I do remember reading that lunchmeats were not to great but I think once a week should be alright. Will they significantly affect my ketosis?
7) Should I try to wean myself off of Diet Rite? I buy the stuff by the case and I can drink seven or eight cans a day. I don't know if this is good or not but I am guessing not. Is it time to give that up as well?
8) Portion sizes are also something I worry about. I have read that this early it will not really affect me but I am worried that it will affect me. I assume that calorie counts are not that important as most likely I will begin to decrease my intake of calories as well as carbs. I feel guilty for eating 1.5 pounds of pork roast for dinner, should I try to cut that back? If so how much?
9) And desserts I have always been a sweet lover. Chocolate is my vice and sweet of choice. I used to stop by gas stations just to grab a Dove chocolate bar. I am doing well with not buying candy bars from the vending machines on campus. But I don't believe dark chocolate is too bad for you carb wise. Just in moderation. My question is would it be better to wean myself off of this as well? A piece of dark chocolate every day, as long as I stay under 20 carbs, cannot hurt can it?
10) Any other comments or suggestions as well as encouragement are appreciated. Thanks for taking the time to listen to me pour my heart out and solicit advice from some wonderful people.
Thanks everyone.